Congressman opposes abortion except for those of his wife and mistress

Meet Representative Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, who is a poster child for that particular set of anti-choicers who oppose abortion with four exceptions: “rape, incest, the life of the mother, and me.” 

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) publicly opposes abortion and has repeatedly run for office as a pro-life candidate. Last week, he was one of 242 House members to vote for a proposed 20-week abortion ban that has become one of the top priorities for the current GOP-controlled Congress.

An anti-abortion Republican casting a vote in favor of an abortion restriction is not typically newsworthy. However, DesJarlais’ positions on the subject are particularly controversial, thanks to evidence that emerged in 2012 that revealed he has advocated for at least three legal abortions in his personal life.

Three years ago, transcripts related to the congressman’s divorce trial showed that DesJarlais supported his ex-wife’s decision to legally end two pregnancies. He also had several extramarital affairs, and once pressured a 24-year-old woman to have an abortion after she told him she was pregnant with his child. “You told me you’d have an abortion, and now we’re getting too far along without one,” DesJarlais told the woman in a recorded phone conversation. “If we need to go to Atlanta, or whatever, to get this solved and get it over with so we can get on with our lives, then let’s do it.”

As Tara notes at ThinkProgress, DesJarlais’s “the only moral abortion is my abortion” stance is not atypical. Lots of people who identify as pro-life find their opposition to abortion is suddenly slightly less absolute when they themselves (or their partner or daughter) become unexpectedly pregnant.

But as the media again questions him after his most recent anti-choice vote, DesJarlais’s camp is insisting that he has a “100 percent pro-life voting record” and has “always advocated for pro-life values.” In reality, the publicly available evidence suggests he supported one woman in her choice to have abortions (pro-choice), pressured another woman to have one (anti-choice), and is using his legislative power to prevent the rest of us from having the freedom to make the same decision he’s benefited from in his personal life (hypocrite).

Header image credit: AP/Mark Humphrey